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Genesis 43
And the famine was severe in the land. 2 And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, Go again, buy us a little food. 3 And Judah spoke to him, saying, The man solemnly protested to us, saying, You shall not see my face, except your brother is with you. 4 If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food: 5 but if you will not send him, we will not go down: for the man said to us, You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you. 6 And Israel said, Why dealt you so ill with me, as to tell the man whether you had a brother? 7 And they said, The man questioned us closely about ourselves, and about our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have you another brother? and we told him according to these words: could we know with certainty that he would say, Bring your brother down? 8 And Judah said to Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and you, and also our little ones. 9 I will be surety for him; of my hand shall you require him: if I bring him not to you, and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever: 10 for except we had lingered, surely we had now returned a second time. 11 And their father Israel said to them, If it be so now, do this; take of the choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds; 12 and take double money in your hand; and the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks carry again in your hand; perhaps it was an oversight: 13 take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man: 14 And El Shaddai give you mercy before the man, that he may release to you your other brother, and Benjamin. And if I be robbed of my children, I am robbed. 15 And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
16 And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, Bring the men into the house, and kill, and make ready; for the men shall dine with me at noon. 17 And the man did as Joseph asked; and the man brought the men to Joseph’s house. 18 And the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time we are brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. 19 And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they spoke to him at the door of the house, 20 and said, Oh sir, we came indeed down at first to buy food: 21 and it came to pass, when we came to the lodging-place, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. 22 And other money have we brought down in our hand to buy food: we know not who put our money in our sacks. 23 And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your Elohim, and the Elohim of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out to them. 24 And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses fodder. 25 And they made ready the present against Joseph’s coming at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.
26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down themselves to him to the earth. 27 And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he yet alive? 28 And they said, Your servant our father is well, he is yet alive. And they bowed their head, and made obeisance. 29 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin his brother, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke unto me? And he said, Elohim be gracious to you, my son. 30 And Joseph hurried; for his heart yearned over his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. 31 And he washed his face, and came out, and he controlled himself, and said, Set on bread. 32 And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, that did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marveled one with another. 34 And he took and sent portions to them from before him: but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.
Genesis 44
And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s money in his sack’s mouth. 2 And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his grain money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. 3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. 4 And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when you overtake them, say unto them, Why have you rewarded evil for good? 5 Is not this that in which my superior drinks, and whereby he indeed divines? You have done evil in so doing. 6 And he overtook them, and he spoke to them these words. 7 And they said to him, Why does my superior speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants that they should do such a thing: 8 Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again to you out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of your master’s house silver or gold? 9 With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my master’s bondmen. 10 And he said, Now also let it be according to your words: he with whom it is found shall be my bondman; and you shall be blameless. 11 Then they hurried, and every man took down his sack to the ground, and every man opened his sack. 12 And he searched, and began at the oldest, and left off at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his ass, and returned to the city.
14 And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house; and he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground. 15 And Joseph said to them, What deed is this that you have done? Know you not that such a man as I can indeed divine? 16 And Judah said, What shall we say to our sovereign? What shall we speak? How shall we clear ourselves? Elohim has found out the iniquity of your servants: behold, we are my sovereign’s bondmen, both we, and he also in whose hand the cup is found. 17 And he said, Far be it from me that I should do so: the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my bondman; but as for you, go back in peace to your father.
18 Then Judah came near to him, and said, Oh my superior, let your servant, I pray you, speak a word in my superior’s ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant: for you are even as Pharaoh. 19 My superior asked his servants, saying, Have you a father, or a brother? 20 And we said to my superior, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him. 21 And you said unto your servants, Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes upon him. 22 And we said to my superior, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die. 23 And you said to your servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, you shall see my face no more. 24 And it came to pass when we came up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my Ruler. 25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. 26 And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother is with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man’s face, except our youngest brother is with us. 27 And your servant my father said unto us, You know that my wife bare me two sons: 28 and the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I have not seen him since: 29 And if you take this one also from me, and harm happen to him, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol. 30 Now therefore when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us; since his life is bound up in the lad’s life; 31 it shall come to pass, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. 32 For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, If I bring him not to you, then I shall bear the blame to my father forever. 33 Now therefore, let your servant, I pray you, remain instead of the lad a bondman to my Ruler; and let the lad go up with his brethren. 34 For how shall I go up to my father, if the lad is not with me? Lest I see the evil that shall come on my father.
Genesis 45
Then Joseph could not control himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known to his brethren. 2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians heard and the house of Pharaoh heard. 3 And Joseph said to his brethren, I am Joseph; does my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. 4 And Joseph said to his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here: for Elohim sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For these two years has the famine been in the land: and there are yet five years, in the which there shall be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And Elohim sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you that sent me here, but Elohim: and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and Ruler of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Make haste, and go up to my father, and say to him, In this manner says your son Joseph, Elohim has made me Ruler of all Egypt: come down to me, do not delay; 10 and you shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you, and your children, and your children’s children, and your flocks, and your herds, and all that you have: 11 and there will I nourish you; for there are yet five years of famine; lest you, come to poverty, you and your household, and all that you have. 12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 13 And you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring down my father here. 14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
16 And the report of it was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren have come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. 17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Say to your brethren, Do this: load your beasts, and go, get you to the land of Canaan; 18 and take your father and your households, and come to me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land. 19 Now you are commanded, do this: take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.
21 And the sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. 22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. 23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses loaded with grain and bread and provision for his father by the way. 24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said to them, See that you fall not out by the way. 25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan to Jacob their father, 26 And they told him, saying, Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt. And his heart fainted, for he believed them not. 27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the Spirit of Jacob their father revived: 28 and Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive: I will go and see him before I die.
